Those of you who are feeling a little rebellious and are somewhat of an activist might like to act upon the following letter. Myself being apolitical, I merely offer the invitation on behalf of the Australian Historic Vehicle Interest Group. I am in no way personally associated with this group and leave you to make up your own mind on how to proceed:-
Dear Fellow Historic Vehicle Enthusiast,
We need the Australian Federal Government to Remove the Luxury Car Tax (LCT) on Historic Cars 30 years or older.
Australians take immense pride in our heritage buildings, historical artefacts, famous artworks and other items of cultural significance. Our motoring heritage is just as important. Because of their significance, many examples of our early motoring history have become valuable, sought-after and have, in many cases, left the country. The LCT has proven to be a major barrier for many of these vehicles ever returning to Australia.
The LCT was introduced in 2000 as part of a sweeping reform of the taxation system and replaced the previous Wholesale Sales Tax (WST) and was intended to continue the degree of protection to the local car manufacturing industry. The WST, however, was never intended to apply to the importation of historic vehicles.
Historic motor vehicles often offer little in the way of creature comforts and can prove challenging to drive. These vehicles are, for the most part, anything but luxurious and have never presented a competitive threat to the local motor manufacturing industry
The LCT is having a negative impact on the importation, or re-importation, of many historic cars. Not only that, but historic cars currently contribute very little to LCT revenue (less than ¼ of 1% of all LCT collected). It is proving to be a one-way valve to our unique motoring heritage and is a major blow to Australia’s vibrant Historic Vehicle Movement. Not only does it affect the enjoyment of our hobby, it limits the provision of opportunities for our historic vehicle repairers, allied trades and suppliers.
As like-minded individuals who pursue their love of historic motoring, we should not have to suffer this punitive tax. It no longer serves the purpose for which it was intended and generates little in government revenue. The removal of LCT on historic cars is also supported by the Australian Historic Motoring Federation Inc.
For further information please see our Facebook page.
We are asking for your support in removing the LCT on historic cars 30 years of age and older by signing this on-line petition.
You can do this by clicking on the following link or if the link is not working (this happens sometimes) highlight the link and right click and select “open” or copy /paste into your browser.
http://chng.it/PqC6kxF4TS.
Please note that the link may include a request for payment to change.com, however please ignore this.
The petition will be used by AHVIG to encourage immediate bi-partisan political action to address this issue.
Thank you for efforts in supporting this.
Kind regards
Doug Young
Chair
Australian Historic Vehicle Interest Group
